These are just random things I decided to write about so I can get em out of my system. when you're a long time wrestling fan such as myself, growing up on AWA and Bob Luce wrestling and being fortunate enough to see different territories, companies, etc as well as work for acouple indy groups in New England, you're bound to have some opinions gathered up and festering. Since this is my webpage where nobody can really control what I say, I can channel alot of this out so why not with this stuff.
when did booking become 'creative'? Booking, matchmaking is now 'creative'. what happens when 'creative isn't doing anything 'creative'? it's pretty obvious in both TNA and especially WWE so why not call them 'uncreeative'? The term creative in wrestling really annoys me when you guys that are supposed to be creative but yet they're creating garbage.
Where'd all the great wrestling shows go? I know where they're not, they're not on tv now. There isn't one great wrestling show on tv now, anywhere in this country. You have to remember I grew watching shows like World Class, every saturday night on an independent station in Chicago, Bill Watt's UWF, Pro Wrestling This Week, Southwest Championship Wrestling on a spanish station(sunday nights at midnight). Shows like that...nolonger exist. Except in spirit on Youtube. There's no real emotion in wrestling, titles, forget it since the great 'creative' people have no clue about what a real' title chase' is.
I was at youtube today looking up stuff when I had a craving to watch some Larry Zybysko promos. I came across one I hadn't seen before, hyping a match against Harley Race. Larry was AWA world champion and Race was challenging. Both men had their promos hyping it and then came the match and for me, this old time refuse to really change with the times fan was back in his glory. How simple was this to build up, how simple was it to get it over and how great it was in how it was presented. That kind of magic is gone because people in the office of 'creative'.
I went thru a box I have of wrestling tapes, movies most people never heard of(Zebrahead, Last of The Finest, A Brooklyn State of Mind, Monument ave) and pulled out this one tape that always reminds me that some good shows can happen. it's atv taping of 4 half hour shows of the EWA when they were based in Maine. I went to this as this was my first intro to their product prior to getting on board with them to do what I did for WWA New England and Sousa's AWF. Just watching the angles play out from point A(or wherever they were when I first seen this) to each phase to a conclusion is still a reminder that simpler and easier can still be done and get over well. I actually like the lewistin, Maine Armory where these tapings were held, it's old rustic kinda, but to me it had a nice feel to it.
It's funny I've been to at least 200 different house shows of the AWA, NWA, WWF, etc and I can recall more of the very first concert I ever went to(STYX Paradise Theatre Tour) than most of the matches at the house shows I've been too. AWA, NWA and WCCW I remember alot more of than WWF(E) and they're suposed to be the biggest, funny how it's their shows I've forgotten the most of.
I remember more stuff thast stand out on indy shows than the major leagues. Like the following.
Tommy Rogers vs Reckless Kid from Northeast Wrestling in Danbury,CT. I drove 5 1/2 hours there, remet George Steele on that show, saw Jake Roberts live, met Evan Ginzburg of Wrestling Then & Now along with a guy I was trading tapes with at the time. Of all the matches on that show this one match always stands out. Just presented good Rogers played to the fans chants reckless kid after gewtting goated by some loudmouth who's writing this finally got into the fan interaction and it made the match better because more fans got into it.
Mountie Rougeau vs Steve Kiern EWA show in Hanover, NH. I helped get this show in hanover at Dartmouth college so when then EWA Owner James St.Jean called me and asked if I had a choice between the two, who'd I choose it was a tough choice so I just said "both". since he already knew he let me in on the fact he's putting them in a match against each other. For me, this is a real stand out because I liked both of them and was able to play wrestling memory with Kiern a after the show on when i first saw him wrestle(in AWA). This was such a fun match to watch and the fact it was on a show I helped get to the building really holds as a gem for me.
Damon D'Archangelo vs Kidd USA Hanover, NH. Same show as above match this was a hardcore match I seriously enjoyed alot. I knew both of them from when they worked for Sousa's group and Kidd USA's character to me got over better in the EWA. this was a real solid match between two guys who had solid talent. it went all over the place but done in a tasteful way that wasn't termed as a 'garbage match'.
The Damned vs Revelations EWA show in Mass. This was an awesome hardcore match between two teams I really liked, it lived up to the hype and build and the fact the state of Mass. doesn't have a commission, they were able to expand on what they could do.
King Kong Bundy vs "All American" Mike Hollow AWF Night of Legends Haverhill, Mass. Bundy and manager Chris grande ripped on the town of Haverhill before the match because at the time it was considered the 7th safest place to live in the country. Bundy I've always been a fan of and Hollow did well, to me. He doesn't consider it a 'highlight' but to me it was.
I'll more to list at another time, I'll just end this now since this got alot longer than originally planned.
